Jaime Lannister on trial, sad Samwell and other things we learned from 'Game of Thrones' Season 8, Episode 2 photos

After “Winterfell” comes “The Trial of Jaime Lannister.” At least, that’s what we’re assuming the second episode of Game of Thrones’s final season is called based on the trailer that premiered following last Sunday’s record-breaking premiere. That episode ended with the Kingslayer entering Winterfell, where he was greeted by a glowering Bran Stark. This coming Sunday, he’ll be staring down the combined scowls of the surviving Stark siblings, along with Daenerys Targaryen, who has the power to sentence him to the same fate as her father, the violently deposed “Mad King.” (Watch the trailer below.)

HBO has released 14 new images from Season 8’s Episode 2 that offer further evidence that Jaime’s fate is going to be one of the big questions of this hour-long chapter. (Those runtimes will stretch to feature length starting with the third episode, which clocks in at 82 minutes.) Here, he is again standing in front of a Daenerys-led tribunal, probably arguing for why they’d be wise to keep him on ... uh, hand what with the White Walkers approaching.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Here are some other notable details we spotted in the new crop of photos.

Samwell doesn’t feel well

Kit Harington as Jon Snow and John Bradley as Samwell Tarly in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Another character to keep your eye on this week is Samwell Tarly. Last Sunday, he dropped a major truth bomb on Jon Snow, revealing that Ned Stark’s supposed bastard is actually next in line for the Iron Throne — an honor that the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen regards with horror. For understandable reasons, Sam now looks highly concerned for his best friend’s sanity.

Hannah Murray as Gilly and John Bradley as Samwell Tarly in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Courtesy of HBO)

When he’s not worrying about Jon, Sam is gazing with concern at Gilly and Little Sam, who came with him to Winterfell despite the impending threat of the Stark castle turning into Westeros’s version of the Alamo.

Hannah Murray as Gilly in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Sam assured Jon that Gilly was doing “good” in the season premiere, but she can’t be thrilled to be in a place with dwindling resources, especially the steadily-depleting food supplies that Sansa was so concerned about.

Bran is still creeping around

Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Bran ensured that he’d be the first face Jaime would see when the Kingslayer arrived at Winterfell. But he’s spending time by the Stark’s weirwood tree, which dates back to the age of the First Men and the Children of the Forest. Some have theorized that this particular weirwood holds a secret to sending the Night King back up beyond the Wall, so it only makes sense that Bran is using his Three-Eyed Raven sight to study it up close.

Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Couples therapy

Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm and Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Lovers Grey Worm and Missandei didn’t say much in the season premiere, but at least they get to share a tender moment in Episode 2, as a likely prelude to the battle to follow.

Conleth Hill as Varys, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Meanwhile, the on-again, off-again allegiance between Daenerys and Jorah Mormont is most definitely back on again. But he’s not anywhere closer to kissing her ... especially if Drogon’s watching.

Stark sibling drama

Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

After the frosty reception between Sansa and Daenerys last week, Jon Snow is on thin ice with his sister. That leaves Arya as the go-between tasked with putting a damper on any and all sibling squabbles. Though if she had to choose, we bet she’d align herself with the “smartest person I’ve ever met.” And no, that’s not Jon.

Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Preparing for battle

The super-sized runtime for Episode 3 suggests that’s where the Battle of Winterfell will finally unfold, a sequence that is reportedly going to be the most ambitious (and longest) sustained bit of combat in Game of Thrones history. And everyone in this episode looks like they know that they’re in for the fight of their lives.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. (Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO)